Sunday, November 8, 2015

Meet 6 year old Jeremy Mardis, killed by police violence. And do something about it.

Last night I was in bed cuddling with my five year old son as he drifted off to sleep. He had a Mickey Mouse toy tightly clenched in one fist and a green marker top clenched in the other. As he grew more drowsy he arched his back and pressed the bottoms of his feet against me. His tongue moved to the left side of the inside of his cheek to rest as it often does when he is falling asleep - one of his favorite bedtime stims. I looked down at my beautiful, beloved, ausomely autistic child. And he reminded me so much of another ausomely autistic child. They looked nothing alike, but I couldn't help but think of him.

Jeremy Mardis. He was a small boy with a radiant smile and glowing eyes to match. The autistic first grader had only attended his new school for a short while but seemed to be settling in. Now Jeremy, once full of life and full of breath like you and I, lives on only as a hashtag. He joins the ever-growing club that nobody wants to be part of: a victim of police violence. Jeremy, who was killed by some of the ~18 rounds of bullets Louisiana police officers fired into his father's car, did not live to tell the tale of what transpired; we only have body camera footage, Jeremy's father's witness statement, conflicting accounts from the officers present, and the pending autopsy results to rely upon. But one indisputable fact is clear: at age 6 years, Jeremy is the 17th US child under the age of 18 years old that has been killed by police officers this year. He is the 834th person to be killed in the US by police this year. And the year isn't over yet. He will not likely be the last.

Jeremy Mardis, age 6. Photo credit: independent.co.uk

Jeremy's death was completely avoidable. Though there is no technical policy for the police department in the jurisdiction where Jeremy died regarding shooting into a moving vehicle in pursuit of a fleeing target, it is illegal in a number of states and it is considered by several reputable law enforcement agencies to be an excessive use of force. The police screwed up.

Though seemingly he is not a candidate for a "Father of the Year" award, Jeremy's father, who was driving the vehicle that the officers were chasing (presumably in a high-speed traffic chase, though it is unclear exactly why)was unarmed in the vehicle, as was Jeremy. Rather than shoot out the tires of the car to stop Jeremy's father from continuing to flee, the officers instead opted to shoot into the car itself - causing Jeremy's tragic and unnecessary death.

When a sweet, innocent, beautiful child loses their life in such a violent, senseless manner, it's often hard to know what to feel, think, or say. There are few words that can adequately describe an awful situation such as this. However, there are a few words that convey the situation perfectly. I'll share them below.

Murder.

The first word is murder. Jeremy was murdered. Had the officers acted responsibly in this case, Jeremy would not have been pummeled with bullets. There is a protocol for dealing with a suspect who evades arrest. None of that protocol justifies shooting into a moving vehicle, endangering the lives of not only known passengers of that vehicle, but also the lives on any unknown passengers and also the lives of passersby as well. Their poor judgment cost Jeremy his life. His blood is in their hands.

Accountability.

Second degree murder charges have been filed against two of the four officers present that day. It is unclear why charges were not filed against all of the officers. Similarly, in my opinion (from what I can glean at this time), Jeremy's father's actions were deplorable and cannot be excused. I'm a parent. My kids ride places with me all the time. I will put myself out there in the interest of transparency I'll admit to having had a warrant before. (Having pretty severe inattentive ADHD on top of being autistic, my executive functioning is not the greatest. If you forget to attend a scheduled court date, a warrant for your arrest is issued until you reschedule, pay the fine, or take care of the matter in some way.) The last thing I would do - or have done - when stopped by the police is embark upon a chase. Because even if no one was hurt in the chase, that would frighten my kids. It's better to stop and take the arrest. Better for your kids to have to wait at the police station for a relative/friend/trusted adult to retrieve them, or even for them to be picked ip temporarily by Children's Protective Services for a few hours due to your arrest than for your kids to be traumatized by being with you while you trying to run. Chances are you won't succeed at the attempt to flee and after you are eventually apprehended after running the kids will have to watch you get handcuffed and arrested anyway; why not minimize the damage if you can?

However, from the latest articles, there doesn't seem to be evidence that there was an active warrant out for Jeremy's father in the first place. So it is even more confusing what happened between him and the police to result in a chase. So many things went wrong, and it's unclear why. But one thing IS clear, and that is, as previously stated, the cops screwed up. And IMO Jeremy's father also screwed up. Majorly. Royally. Inexcusably.

Hypocrisy.

A beautiful six year old is dead. Yet it already seems like yesterday's news. WTH is up with that? As a mother, my heart breaks at the murder of someone's precious son. A young boy who was little more than a baby. Jeremy was only a year older than my youngest son. And like my son (and like me) he was autistic. We have lost one of our own. His autism diagnosis might have nothing to do with his death, but it had something to do with his life. It was part of who he was, part of how he perceived and responded to the world. We don't know who or what little Jeremy could have grown up to become had he had a chance to actually live out his life. One of our people has fallen. My skin might be the color of coffee and his skin might be the color of cream, but Jeremy was - is - my brother. Where is the outrage? Why doesn't Jeremy deserve nationwide vigils in his honor and to be remembered with love? I marched for the murders of Eric Gardner, Tamir Rice, Jordan Baker, and so many others. Police violence hurts no matter what age. Aiyana Jones shouldn't have died; Kayleb Moon-Robinson shouldn't have been assaulted and handcuffed; the teen in McKinney, Texas shouldn't have been sat on; the teen in Spring Valley shouldn't have been assaulted; Jeremy Mardis shouldn't have been shot. Our children's lives cannot afford poor judgment and deadly "accidents." When is someone going to give Jeremy's life - and death - the attention it deserves? You don't have to be an adult, or a black person, or whatever stereotype people might conceive of, for police violence to hurt you. Murder doesn't discriminate. Ask the grieving family of (white) autistic David "Levi" Denham, or the grieving (white) family of James Dudley Barker, or the grieving (white) family of Ethan Saylor. Their families aren't comforted by the fact that their murdered loves ones had white skin. They want - and deserve - justice.

I need to know that somebody in the disability community...somebody in the autistic community...more people from the anti-police violence activism community...somebody who is a freaking human being cares about the death of this child from our communities. Charges have been filed, and that's a good start. But it's not enough. Not even remotely enough.

If Jeremy Mardis doesn't matter, then I sure as heck don't matter. And neither does autistic son nor my autistic daughter. I need to know Jeremy mattered, and matters. I need to believe that people still feel outrage when a child is unjustly killed, especially a child from my community. I need to know that even if it is not trendy or popular to care that people will care anyway.

Will you join me in making contact with the Louisiana State Police (who is investigating the Marksville Police Department)? They need to know we are outraged. They need to know we are advocating for Jeremy to receive justice. They need to know that it is time for them to adopt an official policy banning excessive use of force and shooting into vehicles.

Advocacy Without Borders

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Affirming that "stakeholders," "clients," "self-advocates," etc should be actively engaged in our own movements, we promote social justice via collaborative partnerships (where allies are valued not above, but alongside those for whom they advocate), education & community engagement.

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